A Shade of Vampire 24: A Bridge of Stars (6 page)

“
I
think
it’s best that you see it for yourselves…”

I was burning to ask what “it” meant. But I would have to be patient a little longer.

In the end, not only did Aisha manage to persuade Horatio to lift her ban, he agreed to take us back down to the palace and show us what he was talking about. He said we should get the opportunity to see it today—in less than an hour—for Cyrus was due for his daily visit to one of Horatio’s stepmothers. I had no idea what we would witness, but I was just thanking my lucky stars that we finally appeared to be making some progress. Though if our “progress” continued at this slow pace, we were sure to miss our deadline. I had to hope that after this, every progression we made would be far swifter, otherwise all would be in vain. I didn’t want to consider the consequences.

I took a moment to kiss River and let my family and the others wish me luck. There was hardly any point in them being here in the first place, but of course I understood why they remained. After having lost me for so long, they wanted to stay as close to me as possible.

I decided that it was best for Lucas to stay behind this time, since Aisha and me accompanying Horatio was enough. The three of us left the islet and returned through the portal. Aisha breathed out in relief as she floated over the black dunes. As hostile as this environment was for her, it was her home after all. We zoomed across the sand and as we neared the palace entrance, Horatio called us to a stop. His eyes roamed Aisha. “You can’t come like this, obviously.”

“What do you propose?”

“Turn into something. Something small enough for me to carry in my pocket.”

“I guess a mouse, again, would make sense,” she muttered.

The next thing I knew, Aisha had vanished and on the ground beneath us was a small, brown mouse. Horatio stooped down and picked her up, placing her gently into his pocket. Then grimly, he turned to me.

“It’s also time that you thin yourself. As you may know, jinn cannot see invisible fae just as fae cannot see invisible jinn. I will remain physical, of course, so just make sure not to lose sight of me.”

I nodded.

I thinned myself and followed Horatio across the final stretch of sand before the medallion entrance. He opened it and we drifted down the bejeweled staircase into the entrance hall adorned with diamond chandeliers. He began drawing us deeper into the palace, along a route that I’d passed a few times by now. He headed toward his mother’s apartment, stopping outside a door a dozen feet before it. Looking up and down the hallway to check that nobody was around, he pressed his ear against the door. Then he murmured beneath his breath, “They’re both inside. I suggest you go now, in case he decides to leave early.”

Aisha’s mouse head was peering out of Horatio’s pocket, as though she wanted to come too. But she would have to stay, safe in the folds of his robe.

“Okay,” I breathed. “I’m going in.”

I sank through the door and arrived outside the chamber from which emanated voices: those of Cyrus and a woman. Passing through this door too, I entered a lavish bedchamber. Another strikingly beautiful, tan-skinned jinni, her head bedecked with a tiara, her body sparkling with gems, sat on the edge of the four-poster bed while Cyrus stalked up and down the room. They were deep in conversation.

“Can you really be sure that she will be the one?” the queen asked Cyrus.

“I believe it from the very core of me,” Cyrus replied. He stopped his prowling and sat down next to her on the bed, slipping an arm around her small waist. “Besides, if not her, then who?”

The queen shrugged. “I suppose, since there have been so many false starts along the way, I find it hard to have faith anymore.”

Cyrus' large hand reached up to her face and stroked her forehead, moving up into the roots of her hair. “Yes, there have been,” he replied softly. “And it is regrettable. If I’d had Nuriya from the start, I’m sure none of their lives would’ve been lost.”

Whose lives?

“Even if my gut feeling turns out to be inaccurate,” he went on, “what have I to lose? You have never expressed your fondness for Nuriya anyway, have you, my love?”

The queen stiffened. “I can’t say that I have,” she murmured, pursing her lips. “And I honestly don’t see what attraction you have to her either.”

Cyrus chuckled. He caught her chin and tilted her face upward, kissing her lips. “Attraction is a strange thing,” he said, as he drew away. “But you should well understand the real reason I am drawn to her.”

She nodded curtly, then as Cyrus continued lavishing affection on her—pulling her closer to him and showering kisses down her neck—she loosened a little. She reached for his hands and held them, creating a distance between them so she could look him in the eye. “I do agree with you, Cyrus, despite my reservations. If there’s any way that she could be the one to give you the heirs you need, you must try it. As you say, the only loss would be Nuriya’s life, which isn’t even a loss at all.”

Her previously stony face burst out into a smirk. Cyrus also grinned.

“I’m glad we’re of one mind, my love.” He pushed her back against the mattress and crawled over her, their kisses becoming more heated. She let out a soft moan as his hands travelled down her waist and then, for the first time ever, I saw it. The bottom half of a jinni. The mist that had covered the queen from the waist down, relinquished to reveal… quite an ordinary pair of legs. She wore a silk skirt around her waist—a garment that Cyrus quickly removed, revealing satin underwear.

That I didn’t yell in horror at what happened next was a miracle.

Cyrus’ mist also disappeared, giving way to the lower half of a scorpion.

His smooth, ebony torso flowed into a shiny black abdomen that segmented in several places. Eight black, pointed legs propped him up, and shooting out of his backside was a thick stinger with a razor-sharp, red-tinged tip.

What. The. Hell.

I’d read about a “King Scorpion” in an Egyptology class at school; a historical figure during the Protodynastic Period of Upper Egypt.
This guy sure takes that name to new levels of meaning.

I was glad that I did not have Lucas with me, for I was sure he would have gasped out loud.

The half jinni, half scorpion scuttled leaned to his wife on the bed, and she stood up so that her face could be level with his.

I sensed that this scene was about to get a lot more disgusting as his hands lowered to her hips, but then she whispered, “I wish I could have you again.” From the fire blazing in her eyes, she could mean only one thing by that.

“I know, my love,” he breathed, even as he caressed her collarbone with his full lips. “But you did have me. We had children together. Just because our intimacy has lessened since I came to the throne does not mean that you have lost me. I still love you, just as I love your sister-in-law.”

“And more than you loved your previous seven wives, I hope.” She said the words with a teasing smile. “And Nuriya,” she added spitefully.

“Naturally,” he murmured, breathing into her neck. “Otherwise you would not still be here, would you?”

The two continued embracing and it was clear as the minutes passed that, as impassioned as their kisses were, they were not going to go beyond second base…
Thank God.

Now I realized why, even in the presence of all those harem ladies, Cyrus had kept his pants on… so to speak. And man. With an ass like that, I couldn’t blame him. It was ironic—as surrounded by women as he was, he could not experience the pleasure that even a beggar could.

My mind continued to turn over, reverting to Hortencia’s story. When he’d disappeared those four days before the contest to win the throne, had it been for this? He somehow managed to turn himself into this? Half scorpion? And was that why, in the arena, the scorpion had made no attempt to attack him? And why he had been able to stomach the poison so easily when his brother could not?

But how? How had he been able to turn himself into such a—I recalled Horatio’s words booming through the court just a few hours ago—an abomination?

Whatever the case, Hortencia sure hadn’t been joking. “
Everyone has something to hide.”

Some more than others…

M
y brain was exploding
with so many questions, I was almost tempted to leave right now and return to Horatio to get some answers. But I stayed watching until Cyrus made a move to leave.

Then I darted out of the apartment and emerged in the corridor. Horatio had drifted further up the hallway, leaning against a wall, one hand planted over his right pocket.

“Horatio,” I whispered hoarsely as I approached.

He led me to another apartment—apparently his own apartment this time—and into a sitting room, where he closed the door behind us. Solidifying myself, I wasn’t even sure which of my hundred questions to ask first.

Aisha crawled out of Horatio’s pocket and resumed her jinni form. “What happened?” she asked tensely, her eyes wide.

I was still quite speechless as to how to even describe the monstrosity I’d just witnessed.

Horatio eyed me darkly.

“He’s…” I swallowed. “A scorpion mutant. H-half scorpion.”

Aisha’s jaw hit the floor. “
What?
”

“How is it possible?” I asked Horatio.

He shrugged. “I am certain of when it happened, but not how. Just before his coronation, before the test that his father set for him and his brother.”

“He… he metamorphosed,” Aisha gasped.

“Yes,” Horatio said. “Permanently.”

“How could he have done it?” Aisha asked, repeating my question.

“I doubt anybody knows how he actually pulled it off,” Horatio replied. Noticing my bewildered expression, he added for my sake, “As I’m sure you are aware, jinn can morph themselves into various forms—be they animals or humanoids. But these are only temporary manifestations; jinn must always return to their original forms sooner or later… but not in the case of my father. I’m not sure that he could turn back even if he wanted to.”

“And what exactly does he want Nuriya for?” I asked, recalling the king and queen’s conversation.

Horatio’s eyes darted toward Aisha’s fearful face. He heaved a sigh before continuing to answer me in a low tone. “All the children my father has—me and all my siblings—were begotten before his coronation… as you may imagine, given his mutation. But he is not satisfied with us alone. He has been trying to have children since. It’s tradition among the Drizans that each new generation must be more powerful than the last—the bar must be raised higher and higher to ensure that we remain the undisputed leaders of The Dunes. Since his turning into a monster, he’s wished to create progeny just like him: toughened, robust… poisonous. He believes that this is the true way forward for our race. But in order to create such heirs, he is in need of a female jinni who is capable of adopting the same, permanent form as his. She must become half scorpion. My father believes that Nuriya is the female destined for this.”

My fear for Nuriya increased tenfold, and Aisha looked like she was about to pass out.

“W-why would he believe that?” Aisha stammered.

“She is of impeccable lineage,” Horatio said. “The Nasiris are renowned for their intolerance of inbreeding, and as she is the youngest of the Nasiri king’s daughters, he believed—and still believes—that if any female is capable of surviving the turning and bearing his young, it is she… Hence, when he discovered that she was in love with another man, you can imagine his fury.”

“He told you all this?” I asked, frowning.

Horatio shook his head, scoffing. “Never. The only two still living—apart from me—who have seen his scorpion half are my mother and stepmother; but that in itself is nothing unusual, if you know anything about jinn culture… I only discovered his secret after walking in on him and my mother unexpectedly one day. Even then, after I’d seen him, he made me swear secrecy and refrain from telling any of my siblings. He refused to give me any kind of explanation. Bit by bit, however, I managed to wear my mother down until she caved in and revealed to me more history.”

“H-how would he turn Nuriya?” Aisha stammered.

“As I said,” Horatio replied, “I do not know how he metamorphosed himself, let alone how he would inflict it on others. But whatever the method, he has tried it on his first seven wives… none of whom survived.”

“And… he never tried it on your mother? Or the queen he was with just now?” I asked.

Horatio shook his head. “No. Nenia, whom you saw just now, is his eighth wife, while my mother is his ninth… and sworn last. Though his word means nothing.”

“Why did he never try it with them?” I asked.

“Because after seven lost wives, he’d had enough experience to know that they wouldn’t be successful either, especially since they hailed from the same bloodline as a previous wife who died.”

Ugh. So he married, like, women who were sisters or cousins?

“Then of course,” Horatio went on, “the dragons showed up offering the whereabouts of Nuriya. I’d never seen my father so happy as that day… and now he is preparing to wed her before beginning the mutation.”

My head spun. This was all turning out to be far more complex than I had hoped. In spite of still being in shock, I could not lose awareness of our rapidly escaping time.

I rubbed my face with my hands, taking in a deep breath and trying to calm my brain. I looked up again and addressed Horatio. “You said before that what you would reveal to me was the key to freeing the Nasiris without killing Cyrus. How?” I couldn’t understand how what I’d just witnessed could be considered a weakness. If anything, it just made the obstacle ahead of us seem even more impossible.

Horatio took a seat opposite me, resting his elbows on his knees and looking at me intently. “I believe that his transformation is the cause of his unparalleled powers. How else could a single jinni uphold a bond over all the Nasiris at once—who are certainly not considered a weak clan by any stretch?” He shifted his gaze to Aisha, then back to me. “Besides that, since discovering his secret, I have observed him as much as possible without arousing suspicion. I visited his apartment at odd times, most times watching without him even knowing. I have noticed that he has a ritual of drinking a bright orangey-red liquid… liquid that’s almost the exact color of the tip of his stinger.”

Aisha and I stared at him, wondering exactly what he was implying. Aisha voiced where my thoughts were turning before I could. “Y-you think he’s drinking… his own venom?”

Horatio nodded slowly, grimacing. “I don’t know where else he’d get it from.”

That was a visual I did not need.
God. Can this story get any more gross?

“He drinks it like a ritual, morning, afternoon and evening, and he keeps a stash of it in his kitchen,” Horatio continued.

“I’ve seen him drink it too,” I murmured. “And he’s feeding it to Nuriya.”

“Ugh!” Aisha cried.

“So you’ve already done your own share of spying?” Horatio said to me.

I nodded.

Horatio’s nose curled in distaste. “Then apparently, she has already proven that she can withstand the poison… In any case, flooding his veins with venom must be key to his strength, otherwise he would never drink the vile stuff so religiously—and it is vile, believe me. I’ve smelt it,” he added in an undertone. “Since the poison originates in his tail, that would seem the logical place to target, if he was caught in his physical form, his
full
physical form. Damaging it somehow, maybe even depleting its stock of poison, might severely weaken him. At least, enough for the Nasiris to use their own powers to break free from his bond.”

A span of silence followed.

“So,” Aisha began, her voice unsteady, “how and when would we get him in his physical state, his
full
physical state?”

“It would have to be during one of his visits to his wives. He isn’t scheduled for another one until the day after tomorrow—my mother.”

The day after tomorrow.
I cursed beneath my breath.

“We cannot wait that long,” Aisha voiced for me, glancing at me nervously. “It has to be tonight.”

“Tonight?” The doubt in Horatio’s eyes made my stomach clench. He stood up and began pacing up and down, slowly, thoughtfully. “In that case… I might have another idea. It could kill us all, but it’s an idea nonetheless.”

I held my breath, waiting for him to continue.

“However, we could not do it without Nuriya’s help.”

I raised a brow in question.

“On the night of the wedding, it’s tradition for husband and wife to reveal each other fully to themselves,” Horatio explained to me. “It’s also the same night that—according to my mother—he has historically attempted the mutation… But I’m guessing that they would have some time alone first.”

“We’d have to catch him before that.” Aisha shuddered.

“I’ve no idea if this will work. Usually royal weddings are planned many weeks in advance, and I’m not sure my father would want to rush his wedding with Nuriya, considering what a landmark he considers it to be. I can’t help but think he’d want everything polished to perfection. However, if the request came from Nuriya… you just never know. In any case, we could try.”

“Try to get Nuriya to convince Cyrus to hold the wedding tonight?” Aisha’s brows raised so high they almost disappeared into her hairline.

“As I said,” Horatio muttered, “it’s a long shot. It’s up to you whether you want to take the risk.”

“We’ll take the risk,” I answered immediately.

Risk wasn’t something that scared me anymore. Failure was.